#DallasIdeas 2015: The Educated City

The inaugural For the City: The Dallas Festival of Ideas, presented by The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture in partnership with The Dallas Morning News, took place Saturday, February 28, 2015, in the Dallas Arts District.

National keynote speakers Vishaan Chakrabarti, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Elizabeth Green, Rahaf Harfoush, and Luis Alberto Urrea joined fresh local leaders from diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise to help focus the power of ideas on shaping Dallas’ future. With support from our community, these are the ideas that were generated at the 2015 Dallas Festival of Ideas.

The Educated City: Ideas generated from the Panels

It is essential that people see teaching as the public good that it is by returning authority to teachers, who must be part of the conversation to empower the human aspects of education and can speak best about the needed transformation of education as it is regarded now. This can be accomplished by using our present resources across a spectrum of action, from the enactment of a campaign to bring about public understanding of the true nature of teaching and learning to the actual creation of a model school in Dallas where such teaching and learning take place.

Ideas written down by the Public on sticky notes

Keep arts in schools

Fix DISD

#BigDReads

Less administration, greater number of teachers

Invest in giving teachers the proper training they need

Acknowledge the fact that disadvantaged students require more support, i.e. smaller classes, less increased funding for what richer PTAS are able to provide

Support D-5 programs

Vote for more trustworthy trustees in DISD

More funding for public schools

Programs to allow students to address community issues with minimum adult supervision to create lifelong volunteers

Teach biomimicry please

Invest in parks (Physical City?)

Hold students back in Grades 1-3 until they read

What is the goal of education?

No more standardized tests!

More support for primarily Spanish-speaking students—ESL itself doesn’t cut it!

Explore teachers from different fields and interests so we could have more interesting school courses –from a Townview student who is enraged that Chinese class still doesn’t exist

Invest in education

Treat children as able and bright individuals

Free us from the Institution!

Support Dallas ISD

More accountability of upper positions and finances

More time in school –by Jocelynn, age 7

More teachers –by Jocelynn, age 7

Invest in new teaching strategies

Mentoring, city-wide. Encourage innovation in our children

Give teachers more control, after all they know the students best!

Playground equipment for schools

Larger playgrounds –by Jocelynn, age 7

Healthy snacks like baked chips –by Jocelynn, age 7

Lots of rooms –by Jocelynn, age 7

Small is beautiful, especially for classrooms

Support Dallas schools and neighborhoods. Break up DISD!

Better P.S. funding

Truth, non-violence, honesty, smart work. Keys for success. Educate children with this

Create a higher ed. math to science “magnet”

Visit a school for a day, line up, remain silent, no breaks. Feel like a student.

It’s about knowledge!

More recess, more physically active time, less testing

Teach personal finance

Encourage children to be curious

Higher expectations

Break up DISD! It’s too big!

Keep the mayor’s fitness initiative going!

End political mistrust and work in collaboration—not for the highest bid for the CHILDREN, DISD, and SCHOOL BOARD

Let teachers teach!

The 2016 Dallas Festival of Ideas is all about engaging. In order to make the festival accessible to everyone, we have made General Admission for the 2016 Dallas Festival of Ideas FREE!